Method and apparatus for manufacturing optical device

ABSTRACT

An optical device manufacturing apparatus includes an encapsulating device for encapsulating an optical semiconductor element  4  mounted on a substrate  2  by a liquid resin R in a lens shape, and a curing device for curing the liquid resin R, wherein the encapsulating device includes a dispenser capable of vertically moving a nozzle  25  for supplying the liquid resin R, and brings the tip of the nozzle  25  close to the optical semiconductor element 4 and then supplies the liquid resin R while raising the nozzle  25 . According to this optical device manufacturing apparatus, an optical device having the desired optical properties can be obtained promptly and easily.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus formanufacturing an optical device.

BACKGROUND ART

As an example of an optical device, a lighting device is known in whicha lens part is formed by performing resin molding on an LED chip mountedon a substrate, and light emitted from the LED chip is concentrated bythe lens part. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a method formanufacturing an optical-semiconductor electronic component, which makesit easy to mold a lens shape through encapsulation of a light emittingelement by for example, a dispensing method using a silicone resincomposition having a specific viscosity and thixotropy.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

[PTL 1] JP 2008-231199A

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

Formation of a lens part by resin potting using a dispenser does notrequire a molding die, thus making it possible to inexpensivelymanufacture a lens part in a variety of shapes, whereas it isconventionally difficult to attain the desired accuracy of the lens partshape. Therefore, even when the discharge rate of the dispenser isprecisely controlled, the shape of a cured lens part may vary greatlyand an improvement is thus required.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a methodand an apparatus for manufacturing an optical device, by which anoptical device having the desired optical properties can be obtainedpromptly and easily.

Solution to Problem

The aforementioned object of the present invention is achieved by anoptical device manufacturing method comprising an encapsulating step ofencapsulating a substrate-mounted optical semiconductor element by aliquid resin in a lens shape, and a curing step of curing the liquidresin, wherein in the encapsulating step, a tip of a nozzle of adispenser is brought close to the optical semiconductor element, andthen the liquid resin is supplied while raising the nozzle relative tothe substrate.

Alternatively, the aforementioned object of the present invention isachieved by an optical device manufacturing method comprising a firstencapsulating step of encapsulating a substrate-mounted opticalsemiconductor element by a first liquid resin, a first curing step ofpre-curing the first liquid resin, a second encapsulating step ofencapsulating the pre-cured first liquid resin by a second liquid resinin a lens shape, and a second curing step of main-curing the firstliquid resin and the second liquid resin, wherein in the firstencapsulating step, a tip of a nozzle of a first dispenser is broughtclose to the optical semiconductor element, and then the first liquidresin is supplied while raising the nozzle relative to the substrate,and in the second encapsulating step, a tip of a nozzle of a seconddispenser is brought close to the first liquid resin, and then thesecond liquid resin is supplied while raising the nozzle relative to thesubstrate.

Also, the aforementioned object of the present invention is achieved byan optical device manufacturing apparatus comprising an encapsulatingdevice for encapsulating a substrate-mounted optical semiconductorelement by a liquid resin in a lens shape, and a curing device forcuring the liquid resin, wherein the encapsulating device comprises adispenser capable of vertically moving a nozzle for supplying the liquidresin relative to the substrate, and brings a tip of the nozzle close tothe optical semiconductor element and then supplies the liquid resinwhile raising the nozzle relative to the substrate.

Alternatively, the aforementioned object of the present invention isachieved by an optical device manufacturing apparatus comprising a firstencapsulating device for encapsulating a substrate-mounted opticalsemiconductor element by a first liquid resin, a first curing device forpre-curing the first liquid resin, a second encapsulating device forencapsulating the pre-cured first liquid resin by a second liquid resinin a lens shape, and a second curing device for main-curing the firstliquid resin and the second liquid resin, wherein the firstencapsulating device comprises a first dispenser capable of verticallymoving a nozzle for supplying the first liquid resin relative to thesubstrate, and brings a tip of the nozzle of the first dispenser closeto the optical semiconductor element and then supplies the first liquidresin while raising the nozzle relative to the substrate, and the secondencapsulating device comprises a second dispenser capable of verticallymoving a nozzle for supplying the second liquid resin relative to thesubstrate, and brings a tip of the nozzle of the second dispenser closeto the first liquid resin and then supplies the second liquid resinwhile raising the nozzle relative to the substrate.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the method and apparatus for manufacturing an opticaldevice of the present invention, an optical device having the desiredoptical properties can be obtained promptly and easily.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic configurational diagram of an optical devicemanufacturing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional process diagram showing an example of amanufacturing method in which the optical device manufacturing apparatusshown in FIG. 1 is used.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional process diagram showing another example of amanufacturing method in which the optical device manufacturing apparatusshown in FIG. 1 is used.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configurational diagram of an optical devicemanufacturing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional process diagram showing an example of amanufacturing method in which the optical device manufacturing apparatusshown in FIG. 4 is used.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional process diagram showing another example of amanufacturing method in which the optical device manufacturing apparatusshown in FIG. 4 is used.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing shapes of cured liquid resins varying due tothe viscosities of liquid resins.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional process diagram showing another example of amanufacturing method in which the optical device manufacturing apparatusshown in FIG. 1 is used.

FIG. 9 is a front view showing an example of a heat curing device foruse in the optical device manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional diagram taken along the line B-B in FIG. 9.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

(First Embodiment)

Below, an embodiment of the present invention will now be described withreference to the attached drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematicconfigurational diagram of an optical device manufacturing apparatusaccording to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown inFIG. 1, this optical device manufacturing apparatus 1 includes a loader10, an encapsulating device 20, a buffering device 30, a curing device40, and an unloader 50. Examples of optical devices manufactured by theoptical device manufacturing apparatus 1 include electronic parts havingoptical semiconductor elements, e.g., light emitting elements such aslight emitting diodes (LEDs) and semiconductor lasers or light receivingelements such as photodiodes. The optical device manufactured in thisembodiment is a lighting device having a plurality of LED elements.Examples of optical devices having LED elements include, in addition tolighting devices, backlights of liquid crystal televisions, vehiclelamps, signaling devices, and the like.

The loader 10 includes storage cassettes 12 for storing flat-platesubstrates 2 on multiple levels, and removes the substrates 2 from thestorage cassettes 12 by the action of an arm (not shown) and deliversthem to the encapsulating device 20.

The encapsulating device 20 is configured such that a dispenser device21 for supplying a liquid resin is slidably supported by a support block22 so as to be vertically movable. As the dispenser device 21, ascrew-type dispenser is used in this embodiment, and a screw (not shown)provided inside is driven by the operation of a motor 23, thus allowingthe liquid resin stored in a syringe 24 to be discharged from the tip ofa nozzle 25. Below the dispenser device 21, an XY table 26 foraccommodating a substrate 2 delivered by the loader 10 is provided, andmoving the substrate 2 along the horizontal plane makes it possible tosupply the liquid resin to multiple places on the upper surface of thesubstrate 2.

The buffering device 30 includes storage cassettes 32 for storing thesubstrates 2 on multiple levels, and removes by the action of an arm(not shown) the substrates 2 to which the liquid resin has been suppliedin the encapsulating device 20 and stores them in the storage cassettes32. Then, after a lapse of a specific period of time, the storedsubstrates 2 are again removed by the action of an arm (not shown) anddelivered to the curing device 40.

The curing device 40 includes storage cassettes 42 for storing thesubstrates 2 on multiple levels in a chamber 41, and the substrates 2delivered from the buffering device 30 are sequentially stored in thestorage cassettes 42. The curing device 40 includes heaters (not shown)placed so as to achieve a uniform temperature distribution inside thechamber, and heats each stored substrate 2 at a pre-set temperature. Thecuring device 40 may be configured to heat the substrates 2 underordinary pressure, and the curing device 40 is preferably a pressureoven that is capable of increasing the pressure inside the chamber up toabout 0.5 MPa.

The unloader 50 includes storage cassettes 52 for storing the substrates2 on multiple levels, and removes by an arm (not shown) the substrates 2stored in the storage cassettes 42 of the curing device 40 after a lapseof a specific period of time, and stores them in the storage cassettes52.

Next, the operation of the optical device manufacturing apparatus 1having the above-described configuration will now be described. In thestorage cassettes 12 of the loader 10, multiple substrates 2 on which alarge number of light emitting elements have been mounted in advance arestored, and the substrates 2 are removed sequentially from the storagecassettes 12 and delivered to the encapsulating device 20.

In the encapsulating device 20, the delivered substrate 2 is put on theXY table 26, the substrate 2 is positioned such that the nozzle 25 isplaced immediately above a light emitting element 4 that is a subject ofencapsulation as shown in FIG. 2(a), and then the dispenser device islowered to a place where the tip of the nozzle 25 is close to the lightemitting element 4. A space s between the tip of the nozzle 25 and theupper surface of the light emitting element 4 when the nozzle 25 is atthe near position may be suitably set according to, for example, theviscosity and the amount of the liquid resin supplied, and for example,it is preferably in the range of 0.01 to 3 mm, and more preferably inthe range of 0.01 to 1.5 mm. When the dispenser device is of a jet typeas will be described below, the space is preferably about 0.1 to 10 mm.

Then, as shown in FIG. 2(b), the dispenser device is raised as a supplyof a liquid resin R from the tip of the nozzle 25 begins, and the tip ofthe nozzle 25 gradually moves away from the light emitting; element 4while the liquid resin R supplied. Then, as shown in FIG. 2(c), thesupply of the livid resin R is terminated when the light emittingelement 4 is in a state of being encapsulated by the liquid resin R in alens shape. The rate of supplying the liquid resin R (the amount of theresin supplied per unit time) may be constant or may be changed whilesupplying the resin. For example, increasing the rate of supplying theliquid resin R and then terminating supplying can configure the suppliedliquid resin R to have a bullet shape. On the other hand, reducing therate of supplying the liquid resin R and then terminating supplying canconfigure the upper part of the supplied liquid resin R to have apointed shape. Changing the rate of supplying the liquid resin R in sucha manner while supplying the resin is effective for configuring theliquid resin R, which is for encapsulation of the light emitting element4, to have the desired shape, but changing the rate is not necessarilylimited to this purpose. For example, using a low supply rateimmediately after the beginning of supplying the liquid resin R and thenincreasing the supply rate make it possible to suppress formation ofvoids (cavities) around the light emitting element 4. Instead ofchanging the rate of supplying the liquid resin R, changing the rate ofraising the nozzle 25 (or the rate of lowering the XY table 26 thatretains the substrate 2) while supplying the liquid resin R makes itpossible to achieve the same effect as above. For example, in the caseof configuring the liquid resin R to have a bullet shape, the rate ofraising the nozzle 25 (or the rate of lowering the XY table 26) isreduced while supplying the liquid resin R, and then the supply of theliquid resin R is terminated.

Even after the supply of the liquid resin R is terminated, the nozzle 25is further raised as shown in FIG. 2(d) until liquid cut-off occurs.Then, after the tip of the nozzle 25 and the lens-shaped liquid resin Rare completely separated, the nozzle 25 is placed immediately above theadjacent, unencapsulated light emitting element 4 as shown in FIG. 2(e)by moving the XY table 26. Thereafter, the nozzle 25 is lowered, theabove-described procedure is repeated, and thus encapsulation by theliquid resin R is sequentially performed on all light emitting elements4 mounted on the substrate 2.

The liquid resin R used in the encapsulating device 20 is a translucentresin that is liquid at ordinary temperature, and examples include knownencapsulation resins such as epoxy resins, silicone resins, urethaneresins, acrylic resins, and polycarbonate resins. For the liquid resinR, it is also possible to use a liquid resin in which a phosphor thatabsorbs part of light from the light emitting element 4 and emits lightwith a different wavelength is dispersed in a substantially uniformmanner in the aforementioned encapsulation resin. Combination of thelight emitting element 4 and the phosphor is not particularly limited,and for example, it is possible to emit white light by a combination ofan LED that emits blue light and a BOS phosphor, which is a silicatecomplex <(Ba,Sr,Ca)₂SiO₄ complex>. Examples of phosphors include, inaddition to the above-described BOS phosphor and a yttrium aluminumgarnet (YAG) phosphor, (Y,Gd)₃(Al,Ga)₅O₁₂:Ce, α-SiAlON complex, andLi₂SrSiO₄ complex having a yellow tinge, (Ba,Sr)₃SiO₅ complex having anorange tinge, (Ca,Sr)₂Si₅N₈ complex and (Ca,Sr)AlSiN₃ complex having ared tinge, (Ba,Sr,Ca)Si₂O₂N₂ complex having a bluish green to yellowtinge, Ca₃Sc₂Si₃O₁₂:Ce and CaSc₂O₄:Ce having a green tinge, and thelike.

The substrates 2 discharged from the encapsulating device 20 aredelivered to the buffering device 30, stored and left in the storagecassettes 32, and then delivered to the curing device 40. Then, afterbeing stored and heated in the storage cassettes 42 of the curing device40, the substrates 2 are removed by the unloader 50 and stored in thestorage cassettes 52. Removal of the substrates 2 from the storagecassettes 32 and 42 is carried out at a constant rate in order ofstorage, and thus managed such that the storage time in the bufferingdevice 30 and the heating time in the curing device 40 do not varybetween the substrates 2 and last for a specific duration. In this way,optical devices in which the light emitting element 4 is encapsulated bythe cured liquid resin R in a lens shape are stored in the storagecassettes 52. Curing of the liquid resin R by the curing device 40 ispreferably carried out under pressure of, for example, about 0.5 MPa,and thus, even when air bubbles are contained in the liquid resin R, thevolume of the air bubbles is sufficiently reduced, thereby making itpossible to suppress variation in the lens shape of the liquid resin R.

According to an optical device manufacturing method in which the opticaldevice manufacturing apparatus 1 of this embodiment is used, the liquidresin R is supplied in the encapsulating device 20 after bringing thetip of the nozzle 25 close to the light emitting element 4 and whileraising the nozzle 25, therefore the supplied liquid resin R comes intocontact with the light emitting element 4 at an early stage and spreadsuniformly due to the surface tension with the surface of the substrate2, also the tip of the nozzle 25 is unlikely to submerge in the liquidresin R, and a favorable lens shape of the supplied liquid resin R canbe maintained. Accordingly, a highly precise lens shape that has thedesired optical properties can be obtained promptly and easily. Raisingof the nozzle 25 relative to the substrate 2 may be performed in arelative manner, and for example, it is possible to configure that avertically movable triaxial table is used as the XY table 26 forretaining the substrate 2 and that the liquid resin R is supplied fromthe nozzle 25 while lowering the substrate 2.

It is preferable that the liquid resin R to be supplied has a highviscosity and a high thixotropy so as to be capable of maintaining thedesired lens shape by preventing flattening after being supplied. Forexample, the liquid resin R configured to have a viscosity (23° C.) inthe range of 10 to 300 Pa·s (preferably 10 to 200 Pa·s) and a thixotropyin the range of 2.0 to 7.0 is usable. The thixotropy value is obtainedby placing a sample in a glass bottle, leaving it to stand in a waterbath at 23° C. for about 1 hour, then measuring its viscosities at 2 rpmand 20 rpm with a Brookfield rotational viscometer, and dividing theviscosity at 2 rpm by the viscosity at 20 rpm. The viscosity of theliquid resin R has a correlation with the shape of the cured liquidresin R. While it is easy to supply the liquid resin R with a lowviscosity the lens shape of the liquid resin R becomes flat. On theother hand, with a high viscosity, it is easy to secure the lens heightof the liquid resin R and it is also easy to stabilize the shape, andthus the shape after curing can be closer to the desired hemisphericalshape (or bullet shape). As examples of shapes of cured liquid resins Rvarying due to the viscosities of liquid resins R, FIGS. 7(a) to (d)respectively show cross-sectional shapes of liquid resins R composed ofsilicone resins having viscosities (23° C.) of 99.2 Pa·s, 122.8 Pa·s,155.5 Pa·s, and 188.0 Pa·s (all having a thixotropy of about 5.0±0.5). Amore specific example of the liquid resin R may preferably be asilica-containing silicone resin composition for light emitting elementencapsulation having a viscosity (23° C.) of 10 to 70 Pa·s and athixotropy of 2.0 to 5.5 as disclosed in JP 2008-231199A.

Also, in this embodiment, because the nozzle 25 is configured to befurther raised until liquid cut-off occurs even after the supply of theliquid resin R is terminated, it is unlikely that the liquid resin Rencapsulating the light emitting element 4 is pulled and deformed by themovement of the nozzle 25 toward the next light emitting element 4 to beencapsulated, and the lens shape can be maintained reliably. In order tomake it easy to remove liquid from the nozzle 25, the screw of thedispenser device may be counter-rotated when the supply of the liquidresin R is terminated. Alternatively, in order to remove liquid from theliquid resin R promptly, it is also effective to move the nozzle 25 inthe horizontal direction such that the removal of liquid occursimmediately above the liquid resin R encapsulating the light emittingelement 4 by, for example, vibrating or circularly moving the nozzle 25in the horizontal direction after the supply of the liquid resin R isterminated, and it is thereby possible to promptly and easily obtain thedesired lens shape of the liquid resin R that has undergone liquidremoval. Such a horizontal movement of the nozzle 25 may be carried outwithout raising the nozzle 25, or may be carried out while raising thenozzle 25.

The type of the dispenser device 21 is not particularly limited, and inorder to reliably supply a fixed amount of the liquid resin R even whenit has a high viscosity, a screw type as in this embodiment ispreferable. Preferable examples of dispensers for supplying a highlyviscous liquid resin include, in addition to a screw type, a jet typethat discharges a liquid resin, which has been pressure-fed from asyringe, from a nozzle by the downward movement of a plunger, and avolume-metering type that is capable of fixed-amount discharging.

Encapsulation of the light emitting element 4 by the liquid resin R maybe carried out in the above-described manner after forming in advance acircular barrier part d on the substrate 2 by supplying a liquid resinwhile moving the nozzle 25 so as to surround the light emitting element4 as shown in FIG. 8(a) and then moving the nozzle 25 to a place closeto the light emitting element 4 and starting supplying the liquid resinR having the same component as the barrier part d as shown in FIG. 8(b).In this case, spreading in the horizontal direction of the liquid resinR that encapsulates the light emitting element 4 is regulated by thebarrier part d, and therefore, as shown in FIG. 8(c), it is easy toattain the desired lens shape after the liquid resin R and the barrierpart d form a single body, and this method is particularly effectivewhen the lens height is large.

In this embodiment, a case where the light emitting element 4 is mountedon the flat surface of the flat-plate substrate 2 has been described. Itis also possible to encapsulate the light emitting element 4 using theoptical device manufacturing apparatus 1 of this embodiment for, forexample, the flat-plate substrate 2 on the surface of which a frame 3having a depressed part 3 a is provided and the light emitting element 4is placed inside the depressed part 3 a as shown in FIG. 3(a). In thiscase, the tip of the nozzle 25 is set inside the depressed part 3 a at aplace lower than the aperture plane of the depressed part 3 a, and thenthe liquid resin R is supplied while raising the nozzle 25 to theoutside of the depressed part 3 a, thereby making it possible to allowthe liquid resin R to bulge outward in a lens shape from the aperture ofthe depressed part 3 a as shown in FIG. 3(b). Moreover, the substrate 2is not limited to a flat-plate substrate, and the present invention isapplicable also to, for example, an optical semiconductor elementmounted inside a depressed part of a substrate furnished with a leadframe. It is possible to supply the liquid resin R to the depressed part3 a at a constant supply rate, and it is also possible that a low supplyrate is used in the initial stage and then the supply rate is increased.Thereby, it is easy to sufficiently spread the liquid resin R to as faras the lower corners of the depressed part 3 a, and formation of voids(cavities) can be suppressed. Instead of increasing the rate ofsupplying the liquid resin R, the rate of raising the nozzle 25 (or therate of lowering the XY table 26 retaining the substrate 2) may bereduced.

The optical device manufacturing apparatus 1 of this embodiment cancontinuously carry out the supply of the liquid resin R to the substrate2 and the subsequent curing of the liquid resin R. In such an in-lineoptical device manufacturing apparatus 1, curing of the liquid resin Rin the curing device 40 does not necessarily have to be complete curing,and may be pre-curing in which the liquid resin R is cured to such anextent that deformation does not substantially occur over time.Accordingly, the heating time in the curing device 40 can be shortened,and therefore the curing device 40 can be made small with a fewer numberof the storage cassettes 42. In this case, the liquid resin R can bemain-cured by introducing the substrate 2 removed from the curing device40 again into a heating furnace in a subsequent process. Note that it ispossible that the optical device manufacturing apparatus 1 has abatch-wise configuration.

The curing device 40 can be configured to perform heating under ordinarypressure or under increased pressure as stated above, and is preferablya device that performs heating under increased pressure to suppressquality deterioration due to expansion of air bubbles present in theliquid resin R. FIG. 9 is a front view showing an example of such acuring device, and FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional diagram taken along theline B-B in FIG. 9.

A curing device 400 shown in FIG. 9 includes a plurality of pressurecuring furnaces 410 that are arranged so as to be adjacent in thehorizontal direction. Each pressure curing furnace 410 includes acylindrical casing 413 supported by a top board 411 via cushioningmembers 412 composed of compression springs, and a lower lid 415provided at the upper end of a vertically movable rod of a verticallymovable cylinder 414 composed of, for example, an air cylinder. Thecasing 413 is placed such that the lower side opens, and the lower lid415 ascends from the lower position indicated by the broken line in FIG.10, thus making it possible to tightly close the casing 413.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, a heating element 417 is supported by theupper surface of the lower lid 415 via supporting members 416, and aplurality of pins 418 capable of accommodating the substrate 2 areprovided on the upper surface of the heating element 417. On the otherhand, a heating element 420 is supported in a suspended manner by theupper surface of the inner wall of the casing 413 via supporting Members419. The heating elements 417 and 420 are placed so as to be spacedapart and face each other when the lower lid 415 is in a state in whichthe casing 413 is tightly closed, and this can uniformly heat thesubstrate 2 placed on the pins 418 from above and below. Although theheating elements 417 and 420 in FIG. 9 are metal heater blocks includinga plurality of cartridge heaters 417 a and 420 a, the heating elementsmay be other electrothermal heaters such ceramic heaters, or the heatingelements may be configured to send hot air inside the casing 413.

A pressurizing pipe (not shown) is connected to the casing 413, and itis thus possible, by supplying compressed air from a pressurizingsource, to pressurize the inside of the casing 413 that is in a tightlyclosed state at the desired pressure (for example, 0.5 MPa). Thepressure inside the casing 413 can be released to the atmosphere byoperating a valve on a pressure release pipe (not shown) connected tothe casing 413. The temperature inside the casing 413 can be adjusted bycontrolling electricity sent to the heating elements 417 and 420, or byallowing a coolant to travel through a cooling pipe 423 spirally woundaround the outer circumferential surface of the casing 413.

The curing device 400 includes a delivery conveyor 424 that horizontallydelivers the substrate 2 in the direction of arrangement of the pressurecuring furnaces 410, and a guide rail 425 (shown only partially in FIG.9) placed so as to extend in parallel with this delivery conveyor 424.The delivery conveyor 424 has support parts 424 a that are composed of aplurality of pins and are provided at equal intervals on the deliverysurface, and delivers the substrate 2 such that it is possible, afterthe liquid resin-supplied substrate 2 from the previous process (forexample, the buffering device 30 shown in FIG. 1) is received by asupport part 424 a, that the substrate 2 is passed in the vicinity ofthe pressure curing furnaces 410 and handed over to the subsequentprocess (for example, the unloader 50 shown in FIG. 1). A movable body428 including an extendable rod 427 the tip of which has an air chuck426 for grasping the substrate 2 is slidably supported by the guide rail425, and as shown in FIG. 10, by stopping the movable body 428 in frontof any pressure curing oven 410 and advancing and retracting theextendable rod 427, the substrate 2 can be transferred between thedelivery conveyor 424 and the lower lid 415 (broken line) that is in thelower position. Placement and removal of the substrate 2 in and from thepressure curing oven 410 can he also performed using another transferdevice such as a material handling robot in place of the deliveryconveyor 424 and the movable body 428 of this embodiment.

According to the above-described curing device 400, the substrate 2delivered by the delivery conveyor 424 is placed on the pins 418 of thepressure curing furnace 410 by the action of the movable body 428, andthen delivered to the inside of the casing 413 by raising the lower lid415, thus making it possible to perform pre-curing on the liquid resinsupplied to the substrate 2 at a specific temperature and pressure for aspecific period of time. After the end of pre-curing, the lower lid 415is lowered, and the substrate 2 again is moved onto the deliveryconveyor 424 by the action of the movable body 428 for delivery. Inorder to make the time from the substrate 2 being placed on the deliveryconveyor 424 until being accommodated in the casing 413 uniform, afterthe substrate 2 is transferred to the lower lid 415 from the deliveryconveyor 424, the raising of the lower lid 415 may be suspended until awaiting time that is set in advance for each pressure curing furnace 410elapses, thereby making it possible to enhance the dimensional accuracyof the lens shape of the liquid resin.

(Second Embodiment)

FIG. 4 is a schematic configurational diagram of an optical devicemanufacturing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the presentinvention. As shown in FIG. 4, this optical device manufacturingapparatus 100 includes a loader 110, a first encapsulating device 120, afirst buffering device 130, a first curing device 140, a secondbuffering device 150, a second encapsulating device 160, a thirdbuffering device 170, a second curing device 180, and an unloader 190.The first encapsulating device 120 and the second encapsulating device160 are configured in the same manner as the encapsulating device 20 ofthe first embodiment, and include nozzles 125 and 165 for supplying aliquid resin, respectively. Also, the first buffering device 130, thesecond buffering device 150, and the third buffering device 170 have thesame configuration as the buffering device 30 of the first embodiment,and the first curing device 140 and the second curing device 180 havethe same configuration as the curing device 40 of the first embodiment.Substrates 2 stored in storage cassettes 112 of the loader 110 aresequentially delivered by the operation of an arm (not shown) in thedirection of arrow A in FIG. 4 and stored in storage cassettes 192 ofthe unloader 190.

In this optical device manufacturing apparatus 100, a light emittingelement 4 is encapsulated by a first liquid resin in a lens shape by thefirst encapsulating device 120 as in the case of the encapsulatingdevice 20 of the fast embodiment. Then, with the first liquid resinbeing in a pre-cured state through the first buffering device 130, thefirst curing device 140, and the second buffering device 150, thesubstrate is delivered to the second encapsulating device 160.

In the second encapsulating device 160, the delivered substrate 2 is puton an XY table, and as shown in FIG. 5(a), the substrate 2 is positionedsuch that the nozzle 165 is placed immediately above the light emittingelement 4, and then a dispenser device is lowered to a place where thetip of the nozzle 165 is close to a first liquid resin R1 encapsulatingthe light emitting element 4. It is preferable that the space betweenthe tip of the nozzle 165 in the near position and the first liquidresin R1 is set to be comparable to the space s shown in FIG. 2(a).

Then, as shown in FIG. 5(b), the dispenser device is raised as thesupply of a second liquid resin R2 from the tip of the nozzle 165begins, and the tip of the nozzle 165 gradually moves away from thefirst liquid resin R1 while the second liquid resin R2 is supplied.Then, as shown in FIG. 5(c), the supply of the second liquid resin R2 isterminated when the first liquid resin R1 is in a state of beingencapsulated by the second liquid resin R2 in a lens shape.

Even after the supply of the second liquid resin R2 is terminated, thenozzle 165 is further raised as shown in FIG. 5(d) until liquid cut-offoccurs. Then, after the tip of the nozzle 165 and the lens-shaped secondliquid resin R2 are completely separated, the nozzle 165 is moved toimmediately above the adjacent light emitting element 4 as shown in FIG.5(e) by moving an XY table. Thereafter, the nozzle 165 is lowered, theabove-described procedure is repeated, and thus the first liquid resinR1 on all light emitting elements 4 mounted, on the substrate 2 isfurther encapsulated by the second liquid resin R2. Thereafter, via thethird buffering device 170, main-curing is carried out in the secondcuring device 180, thereby making it possible to obtain a light emittingdevice in which the first liquid resin R1 and the second liquid resin R2are completely cured.

According to the optical device manufacturing apparatus 100 of thisembodiment, since the second liquid resin R2 is supplied after the firstliquid resin R1 is pre-cured, it is possible to suppress deformation ofthe first liquid resin R1 that occurs due to the weight of the secondliquid resin R2, and prevent the first liquid resin R1 and the secondliquid resin R2 from being mixed. It is therefore possible to promptlyand easily obtain the desired lens shape of the second liquid resin R2.

A combination of the first liquid resin R1 and the second liquid resinR2 is not particularly limited, and for example, using aphosphor-containing material as the first liquid resin R1 and on theother hand a phosphor-free material as the second liquid resin R2 makesit possible to obtain a high-intensity light emitting device whilesuppressing the amount of phosphor used. Alternatively, it is possibleto use a phosphor-free material as the first liquid resin R1 and on theother hand a phosphor-containing material as the second liquid resin R2.

In this embodiment, the first liquid resin R1 is encapsulated by thesecond liquid resin R2 in a lens shape, and also the light emittingelement 4 is encapsulated by the liquid resin R1 in a lens shape, butsince the shape of the first liquid resin R1 does not directly influencethe final lens shape, the first liquid resin R1 may have a shape otherthan a lens shape. For example, a low-viscosity material may be used forthe first liquid resin R1, and the first liquid resin R1 covering thelight emitting element 4 may have a thin-film-like flat shape.

As in the first embodiment, in this embodiment also, it is possible toencapsulate the light emitting element 4 mounted inside a depressed part3 a of the substrate 2 by the first liquid resin R1 and the secondliquid resin R2. First, in the first encapsulating device 120, as shownin FIG. 6(a), the tip of the nozzle 125 is set inside the depressed part3 a, then the first liquid resin R1 is supplied while raising the nozzle125, and thus, as shown in FIG. 6(b), the light emitting element 4 isencapsulated by the first liquid resin R1 within the depressed part 3 a.Then, in the second encapsulating device 160, as shown in FIG. 6(c), thetip of the nozzle 165 is set inside the depressed part 3 a, then thesecond liquid resin R2 is supplied while raising the nozzle 165 to theoutside of the depressed part 3 a, and thus, as shown in FIG. 6(d), itis possible to allow the second liquid resin R2 to bulge outward in alens shape from the aperture of the depressed part 3 a.

In addition, various modifications presented in the first embodiment arealso suitably applicable to the second embodiment.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

1,100 Optical device manufacturing apparatus

2 Substrate

4 Light emitting element (optical semiconductor element)

20 Encapsulating device

25,125,165 Nozzle

40 Curing device

120 First encapsulating device

140 First curing device

160 Second encapsulating device

180 Second curing device

The invention claimed is:
 1. An optical device manufacturing methodcomprising: encapsulating a substrate-mounted optical semiconductorelement by a liquid resin in a lens shape; and curing the liquid resin,wherein in the encapsulating step, a tip of a nozzle of a dispenser isbrought close to the optical semiconductor element, the nozzle begins tobe raised relative to the substrate as a supply of the liquid resinbegins, and then the liquid resin is supplied while raising the nozzlerelative to the substrate, and wherein in the encapsulating step, a rateof raising the nozzle relative to the substrate is changed during thesupply of the liquid resin performed while raising the nozzle relativeto the substrate.
 2. The optical device manufacturing method accordingto claim 1, wherein the encapsulating step comprises a step of furtherraising the nozzle until liquid cut-off occurs after a supply of theliquid resin is terminated.
 3. The optical device manufacturing methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the optical semiconductor element isplaced inside a depressed part of the substrate, and the encapsulatingstep comprises a step of raising the tip of the nozzle from inside thedepressed part.
 4. The optical device manufacturing method according toclaim 1, wherein the encapsulating step comprises a step of moving thenozzle in a horizontal direction after a supply of the liquid resin isterminated such that liquid cut-off occurs immediately above the liquidresin supplied to the substrate.
 5. The optical device manufacturingmethod according to claim 1, wherein the encapsulating step comprises astep of forming in advance a circular barrier part on the substrate bysupplying the liquid resin while moving the nozzle so as to surround theoptical semiconductor element.
 6. The optical device manufacturingmethod according to claim 1, wherein the encapsulating step comprises astep of changing a supply rate while supplying the liquid resin.
 7. Theoptical device manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein thecuring step is carried out under increased pressure.
 8. The opticaldevice manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the liquidresin has a viscosity at 23° C. of 10 to 200 Pa·s and a thixotropy of2.0 to 7.0.
 9. The optical device manufacturing method according toclaim 1, wherein the dispenser is any of a screw type, a jet type, and avolume-metering type.
 10. The optical device manufacturing methodaccording to claim 1, wherein in the encapsulating step, a rate ofsupplying the liquid resin is changed during the supply of the liquidresin performed while raising the nozzle relative to the substrate.